Monday, September 20, 2010

Harald Welzer did a lot of research on racism and violence; he is also the author of the book 'Klimakriege'. In zeit-online, he is interviewed as an expert on the recent debate about Thilo Sarrazin, who wrote a much debated book about the alleged dangers of Muslim immigration for Germany ("Deutschland schafft sich ab"). Welzer (and many others) blames Sarrazin to make use of racist or eugenic arguments. Welzer argues that bringing the "jewish genes" into play, as Sarrazin does, disqualifies the book for public discussion. He goes on saying that discussing immigration issues under these premises is the same as discussing with holocaust deniers or climate skeptics - it is impossible to do so. Here the quote in German:ZEIT ONLINE: In Deutschland teilen einige Ihre Haltung. Allerdings hieß es über Sarrazin auch: Endlich sagt das mal jemand. Welzer: Dass man Applaus bekommt, wenn man eine solche Meinung artikuliert, ist bedenklich, und man muss sich damit beschäftigen. Der Fall Sarrazin aber ist kein harmloser "Tabubruch". Spätestens als das jüdische Gen ins Spiel kam, war das Buch für mich nicht mehr diskutabel. Man kann gerne über Migration oder fehlgeleitete Integrationspolitik diskutieren, sollte man auch, aber nicht anhand dieses Akteurs und dieses Buches. Das ist so, als diskutiere man plötzlich mit Holocaustleugnern oder Klimaskeptikern. (highlighted by W.K.)
In Welzer's world view, the post-war discourse constellations are projected on the (post-Cold War) phenomenon anthropogenic climate change. Already in his book "Klimakriege", climate change is presented as an indisputable fact; his arguments that climate change will lead to mass immigration of refugees into the European Union, to climate wars and violence all over the place is indeed 'climate deterministic'. It is really stunning to see how he attacks eugenic determinism, while being at the same time climate deterministic. That's really highly confusing, to say the least.

The "Alleinbesitz" of the moral high ground by the Socialists/Lefties has been victim of serious erosion these days. Sweden (of all places) is the next country where a political earth quake will take place. There's a maximum of resilience to many ordinary people (=voters).

Populist politicians will hijack these items because the sitting elite is just not listening to the hoi polloi.

I always thought the people who propagate that the socialist new Hitler named "Barack Hussein Obama" (who is a Muslim mole) and his black racist commie buddies in the White House who want to turn America into a Third World country claim the moral high ground.

The bad thing is: I didn't make up any of the above.

Well, but then the same people propagate climate denialism and creationism. Which, for me, puts it in about the same envelope.

Too bad there is no word for climate denialism in german. So the inventors of climate denialism give it a bad name. Who would have thought that might happen.

_Flin_: This argument "... then the same people propagate XXX and YYY. Which, for me, puts it in about the same envelope" is a pretty strange logic. Absurd counteraxample are easily constructed: A rapist had a red shirt. My neighbor has a red shirt. Thus, he is in the "same enveloppe" as the rapist.

@Wernerhow deterministic are your views? Sometimes, I feel it is hard to find the right balance in the public climate debate for the scientists. Not knowing everything does not mean knowing nothing. Some interests groups use all uncertainties for propagating "inactivism". Other groups just "forget" the uncertainties.

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